Two new Marriott hotels in Atlanta, Georgia are set to become the city’s greenest after one is awarded the status of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway has been granted LEED status by the US Green Building Council. A second Marriott hotel, the Atlanta Marriott Gateway, is still to open its doors, but when it does so in August, it will apply for silver LEED status.

Area vice president for Marriott International, Erika Alexander, said that being one of the first hotels in Atlanta to achieve the highest LEED awards was extremely gratifying. By 2015 the hotel group aims to have at least 300 of its properties registered with LEED.

The two Atlanta Marriotts were deliberately built with environmental concerns in mind. Both have been constructed close to alternative forms of transportation, including the SkyTrain which links them to one of the busiest airports in the world. Each hotel has been fitted into a landscape which reduces overall water consumption by 50 per cent and 10 per cent of both buildings is made up of recycled materials.

Twenty percent of the materials used for construction was sourced within 500 miles of the city and both will use 28 per cent less energy and 30 per cent less water than hotels which do not make the LEED grade.

In a bid to reduce energy absorption both hotels have white roofs. They also have energy efficient lighting systems and carpets, paints and sealants which are made up of low volatile organic compounds.